Household appliance closure element with touch interface

ABSTRACT

A household appliance includes a housing; a treating chamber located within the housing and having an access opening; a closure element movable relative to the access opening between opened and closed positions to selectively provide access to the treating chamber through the access opening; a controller associated with the housing and implementing a treating cycle on at least one item in the treating chamber; and a human-machine interface. The HMI includes a first portion associated with the housing and a second portion associated with the closure element. The first portion includes non-touch sensitive indicia. The second portion includes an electrically conductive layer having a touch-sensitive area corresponding to the indicia of the first portion and is arranged to be in register with a corresponding selection area when the closure element is in the closed position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/194,313, filed Jul. 20, 2015, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Household appliances, examples of which include a clothes washer,clothes dryer, an oven, a microwave, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, etc.,perform useful cycles of operation and often have electrical andmechanical components responsible for implementing the cycle ofoperation of the appliance, with one or more of the componentscontrolling the operation of the other components. For example, acontroller, such as a microprocessor-based controller, having a printedcircuit board (PCB) with memory, can control the operation of thevarious components to implement a cycle of operation.

A human-machine interface (HMI) can be provided as part of or separatefrom the controller to provide input and output communication between auser of the household appliance and the controller. The HMI can includeone or more knobs, dials, switches, displays, touch screens, and thelike for communicating with the user, such as to receive input andprovide output. The user can enter different types of information toaffect the cycle of operation. An HMI can include touch sensitiveelements provided on an outer surface of the household appliance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a household appliance includes a housing, a treatingchamber located within the housing and having an access opening, aclosure element movable relative to the access opening between openedand closed positions to selectively provide access to the treatingchamber through the access opening, a controller associated with thehousing and implementing a treating cycle on at least one item in thetreating chamber and a human-machine interface (HMI) having a firstportion associated with the housing and a second portion associated withthe closure element, the first portion having non-touch sensitivedisplay elements, and the second portion having an electricallyconductive layer having a touch-sensitive area, wherein the electricallyconductive layer is arranged to be in register with correspondingdisplay elements when the closure element is in the closed position.

In another aspect, a method of operating a human-machine interface (HMI)of a household appliance includes controllably displaying non-touchsensitive display elements on a first portion of a housing having atreating chamber, wherein the display elements are overlain with asecond portion of a closure element movable relative to the firstportion of the housing between open and closed positions, the secondportion including an electrically conductive layer having atouch-sensitive area corresponding to the display elements, receiving auser input on the touch-sensitive area indicative of a desired selectionof the display elements, providing the user input from thetouch-sensitive area to a controller, and implementing a treating cycleon at least one item in the treating chamber by the controller, based onthe provided user input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a partial side view of a household appliance with a movableclosure element in a closed position.

FIG. 2 shows a partial side view of a household appliance with a movableclosure element in an opened position.

FIG. 3 shows a partial side view of a household appliance with a movableclosure element in a closed position.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in a closed position.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in an opened position.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in an opened position and a user accessing atreating chamber.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in a closed position and a user touching anactivation zone of the lid.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in a closed position and a user touching anactivation zone of the lid.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance with atransparent hinged lid in a closed position and a user touching anactivation zone of the lid.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a household cooking appliance with atransparent hinged door in an opened position.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a household dishwashing appliancewith a transparent hinged door in an opened position.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a household refrigeration appliancewith a transparent sliding door in an opened position.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

When the HMI is located near or on an appliance closure element such asa door or a lid, a user can inadvertently activate a touch sensitiveelement located on or near the closure element, such as by leaningagainst the appliance or during placement or removal of a consumerarticle into or out of an interior treating chamber of the appliance.Additionally, the electrical components needed for display elements ofan HMI impose limitations with respect to the form factor and aestheticsof the overall HMI, particularly when the HMI is disposed on the closureelement.

FIG. 1 shows a partial side view of a household appliance 11 with amovable closure element 12 in a closed position. The household appliance11 includes a housing 10, a movable closure element 12, a controller 30and an HMI 24.

The housing 10 includes at least one access opening 35 to the interiorof the housing 10. The interior of the housing 10 can define a treatingchamber 34 into which a user 28 can place one or more consumer articles.The housing 10 can be any structure for enclosing, supporting andprotecting the electrical and mechanical components of the householdappliance 11 including, but not limited to a cabinet and a frame. Thehousing 10 can be formed of any material suitable for construction ofthe housing structure including, but not limited to metal, plastic,composite materials and combinations thereof. Some models of householdappliances can include decorative panels that can be mounted on thehousing 10.

The movable closure element 12 is a cover that selectively providesaccess to the treating chamber 34 through the access opening 35. Themovable closure element 12 can be formed into any suitable cover toprovide selective access to the treating chamber 34 by moving betweenopened (shown in FIG. 2) and closed positions, including but not limitedto, a lid, a door, a drawer, a removable panel, etc. The motion thatmoves the closure element 12 can be any motion capable of toggling theclosure element 12 between the opened and closed positions and includesbut is not limited to swinging, pivoting, sliding, and rotating. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, the movable closure element 12 is a lidthat is coupled to the housing 10 by a lid hinge 16.

The movable closure element 12 can be transparent. It will be understoodthat “transparent” as applied to the movable closure element 12 and usedherein not only implies that light can pass through the movable closureelement 12 so that objects on one side of the movable closure element 12can be distinctly seen on the other side but can also includesemitransparent materials that are partially or imperfectly transparentas well as transparent regions that include semi-transparent or opaquegraphics. The movable closure element 12 can be formed from any suitablematerial for transparency including but not limited to glass, plastic,vinyl and combinations thereof.

The HMI 24 includes a first portion 25 associated with the housing 10and a second portion 27 associated with the closure element 12. Thefirst portion 25 includes the display elements that provide output fromthe HMI 24 to a user. The display elements can be any display indiciaused to convey information to a user including, but not limited to,static indicia 18, dynamic lighted elements 20 and combinations thereof.Static indicia 18 can be any visual symbol formed on or in the housing10 including, but not limited to, printed or engraved symbols, logos,letters, numbers and pictures. Dynamic lighted elements 20 can include,but is not limited to, light-emitting diodes (LED), liquid crystaldisplays (LCD), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and combinationsthereof.

The second portion 27 of the HMI 24 is associated with the closureelement 12 and includes an electrically conductive layer 22. When theclosure element 12 is in the closed position, the electricallyconductive layer 22 is arranged to be in register with the correspondingdisplay elements of the first portion 25 located on the housing 10including the static indicia 18 and dynamic lighted elements 20. Theregistration of the electrically conductive layer 22 to the staticindicia 18 and dynamic lighted elements 20 can include any configurationto enable the association of the touch input of the electricallyconductive layer 22 and the sensory output of the static indicia 18 anddynamic lighted elements 20 including but not limited to a mechanicalvertical alignment of the input and output elements, a mechanicalnon-vertical alignment of the input and output elements that accountsfor parallax, a software-driven alignment of dynamic lighted elements 20and combinations thereof.

The electrically conductive layer 22 is a transparent layer that is thinrelative to the thickness of the closure element 12. The electricallyconductive layer 22 can respond to a touch event, for example, byregistering a change in capacitance correlating to a distortion of anelectrostatic field. The electrically conductive layer 22 can be formedof any transparent touch sensitive material including, but not limitedto, transparent conductive coatings of indium tin-oxide (ITO),Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT),poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS),silver nanowire, graphene oxide and combinations thereof. The secondportion 27 of the HMI 24 can include an encapsulation layer 26 that canencase the electrically conductive layer 22 to protect and support theelectrically conductive layer 22.

While described in the context of providing a capacitive touch-sensitivearea of the closure element, the touch-sensitive area of the secondportion 27 of the HMI 24 is not limited to materials responsive tocapacitance. The touch-sensitive area of the second portion 27 of theHMI 24 can include any electronics, films or other layers that can beformed from transparent materials that respond to touch. In this way,the touch-sensitive area of the closure element 12 can respond to touchbased on any touch-sensitive technology including, but not limited to,surface acoustic wave, infrared, optical, acoustic pulse recognition,and dispersive signal technologies.

The second portion 27 of the HMI 24 is in communication with thecontroller 30 by a wiring harness 14. The wiring harness 14 is anassembly of wires and connectors that can transmit data and powerbetween the second portion 27 of the HMI 24 (e.g. from the electricallyconductive layer 22) and the controller 30. The wiring harness 14 caninclude any number of wires as needed to transmit data and power betweenthe second portion 27 of the HMI 24 and the controller 30 including, butnot limited to, a three-wire harness that includes a ground wire inaddition to a power and a data wire. Similarly, the dynamic lightedelements 20 of the first portion 25 of the HMI 24 are in communicationwith the controller 30 by a wiring harness 32.

The controller 30 located within the housing 10 is operably coupled tothe HMI 24. It is contemplated that the controller 30 is amicroprocessor-based controller that implements control software andsends and receives one or more electrical signals including data andpower to and from each of the first portion 25 and the second portion 27of the HMI 24 to control the user experience. For example, thecontroller 30 can synchronize a touch input from the electricallyconductive layer 22 to activate a dynamic lighted element 20 in registerwith the touched input.

The controller 30 can include a memory 31 and a central processing unit(CPU) 33. The memory 31 can be used for storing the control softwarethat is executed by the CPU 33 in reading the touch inputs and indexingthe touch inputs to the displayed outputs of the HMI 24 and anyadditional software. The memory 31 can also be used to storeinformation, such as a database or table, and to store data receivedfrom one or more components of the household appliance 11 that can becommunicably coupled with the controller 30. The database or table canbe used to store the various operating parameters for the HMI 24,including factory default values for the operating parameters and anyadjustments to them by the controller 30 or by user input.

The controller 30 can also be coupled with one or more sensors providedin one or more of the systems of the household appliance 11 to receiveinput from the sensors, which are known in the art and not shown forsimplicity. Non-limiting examples of sensors that can be communicablycoupled with the controller 30 include: a treating chamber temperaturesensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemical sensor, aposition sensor and a motor torque sensor, any of which can be used todetermine one or more outputs to be displayed on the dynamic lightedelements 20 of the HMI 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the movable closure element 12 is in the closedposition. A user 28 can touch the outer surface of the movable closureelement 12 to interface with the HMI 24 of the household appliance 11.That is, from the user's perspective, the first portion 25 of the HMI 24including the display elements (i.e. the static indicia 18 and thedynamic lighted elements 20) of the HMI 24 and the second portion 27 ofthe HMI 24 including the touch sensitive elements (i.e. the electricallyconductive layer 22) appear to be a single integral component similar tothe touch interface of a tablet or smart phone.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a partial side view of a household appliance 11with a movable closure element 12 in an opened position is shown. Uponmoving the movable closure element 12 to the opened position, the secondportion 27 of the HMI 24 including the electrically conductive layer 22physically separates from the first portion 25. None of the electronicsassociated with the lighted elements 20 travel with the closure element12.

As described above, the second portion 27 of the HMI 24 communicateswith the controller 30 to receive power and transmit data with ahard-wiring coupling via wire harness 14. The provision of a wired orcabled coupling could affect user interface performance due to therelatively long wire path of the wire harness 14. Additionally, themechanical coupling of the wires harness 14 to the controller 30 couldallow water ingress to the controller 30. Therefore, wirelesscommunication alternatives for both data and power are contemplated.Referring now to FIG. 3, a partial side view of a household appliance 11with a movable closure element 12 in a closed position is shown. Thesecond portion 27 of the HMI 24 can include one or more of the followingelements to be further described herein: an antenna 50 for datatransmission or power reception, a capacitor 56 or battery to storeelectrical charge and an energy harvesting component 54 to captureenergy incidental to the operation of the household appliance 11.

To wirelessly communicate data or power or both between the secondportion 27 of the HMI 24 and the controller 30, the second portion 27 ofthe HMI 24 can include an antenna 50 and the controller 30 can includean antenna 52. In this way, the antenna 50 can transmit data related totouch events to the antenna 52 of the controller 30 and the antenna 52of the controller 30 can transmit power to the antenna 50 of the secondportion 27 of the HMI 24. While shown as a single antenna 50 for bothpower and data, the antennas 50 and 52 can each include any number ofantennas to transmit power and data including but not limited to asingle antenna for both power and data, a single antenna for power and asingle antenna for data, and one or more antennas for transmission orreception of data. The antennas 50, 52 can be any type of antenna suitedfor placement in the household appliance including but not limited todipole antennas and microstrip antennas.

The configuration and operation of the antennas 50, 52 can be anyconfiguration that transmits power or data between the controller 30 andthe second portion 27 of the HMI 24, including but not limited to, path,inverted-F, meander line and slot. In one example configuration, theantennas 50, 52 can be loop antennas and the second portion 27 of theHMI 24 the controller 30 can communicate by near-field communication(NFC) which uses magnetic induction between the two loop antennaslocated within each other's near field. The antennas 50, 52 cancommunicate data or power or both using any wireless standard suitablefor data or power transmission including, but not limited to, Bluetooth(including Bluetooth Smart), Qi, Open Dots, Rezence and WiPower.

When the antenna 50 is not configured to receive electrical power fromthe antenna 52 of the controller 30, an energy harvesting component 54can capture energy that can be converted to the electrical power neededby the second portion 27 of the HMI 24 for the operation of the touchsensitive input of the interface. The energy harvesting component 54 caninclude a piezoelectric element that converts mechanical strain intoelectric current or voltage. In this way, the second portion 27 of theHMI 24 can derive power from movement of the closure element 12 orvibration of the housing 10 induced by a cycle of operation such as canoccur when the household appliance 11 is a laundry machine.Alternatively or in addition to a piezoelectric element, the energyharvesting component 54 can include any device configured to generateand provide a small amount of electrical power including, but notlimited to, a pyroelectric element or thermoelectric generator thatconverts a temperature change into electric current or voltage and arectenna that converts stray microwave energy into direct currentelectricity, etc. The decoupling of the lighting and display elementsfrom the touch sensing aspects of the HMI 24 enable energy harvestingcomponents and their relatively low power levels to be used asdescribed.

The capacitor 56 or battery can store charge either received from theantenna 50 or the energy harvesting component 54, depending upon theimplementation.

A number of aspects outlining the features of separating the touch anddisplay portions of the HMI 24 of a household appliance 11 aredemonstrated below by example of a household laundry appliance 111. FIG.4 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance 111 wherethe movable closure element is a transparent hinged lid 112 in a closedposition. The household laundry appliance 111 is similar to the moregeneral household appliance 11 illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;therefore, like parts will be identified with like numerals increased by100, with it being understood that the description of the like parts ofthe household appliance 11 applies to the household laundry appliance111, unless otherwise noted. When a user has not activated a touch eventon the electrically conductive layer 122 for some predetermined periodof time and there is no currently active cycle of operation, the HMI 124can enter a “sleep mode” where the dynamic lighted elements 120 are allpowered off. With the transparent hinged lid 112 in the closed position,the controller (not shown) can respond from “sleep mode” in the event ofa user-initiated touch event. While the operation of a “sleep” mode and“waking” the HMI 24 is described below, the example is illustrative onlyand meant to demonstrate aspects of the HMI 24. The HMI 24 can includeany operational modality to facilitate a desired user experienceincluding but not limited to an operational state where the displayelements are always on or selectively dimmable or synchronized to acycle of operation, etc.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the household laundry appliance 111with the transparent hinged lid 112 in an opened position. Also in“sleep mode”, with the transparent hinged lid 112 in the openedposition, the controller (not shown) cannot respond from “sleep mode” inthe event of a user-initiated touch event. Based on, for example, atrigger in the lid hinge 116 or a tilt sensor (not shown) coupled to thecontroller, the controller can configure the HMI 124 to not respond toany touch event sensed at the electrically conductive layer 122. Itshould be noted that a touch event when the transparent hinged lid 112is in the opened position is both unlikely to occur and likely to beinadvertent in the event it does occur. However, explicitly ignoring atouch input when the movable closure element is in the open position isadvantageous in other household appliances with different door or lidconfigurations.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance 111with a transparent hinged lid 112 in an opened position and a user 128accessing a treating chamber 134. Because the lid 112 is in the openedposition, the touch sensitive second portion 127 of the HMI is not incontact with the user 128 during a laundry load or unload operation.Therefore, the user 128 can contact any of the display elements 118, 120of the first portion 125 of the HMI without inadvertently generating aninput to the controller.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a household laundry appliance 111with a transparent hinged lid 112 in a closed position and a user 128touching the second portion 127 of the HMI on the lid 112. To “wake” theHMI, a user 128 can initiate a touch event by contacting the secondportion 127 of the HMI. Upon determining a touch activation as shown inFIG. 8, the controller can control the dynamic lighted elements 120 toprovide light such that the user 128 can see the user display elementsincluding the static indicia 118. At least one of the controls caninclude a touch event that will execute a cycle of operation. As shownin FIG. 9, a user 128 can make a selection by touching an appropriatearea of the second portion 127 of the HMI that, via the controller,indexes to a cycle start indicia on the display of the interface. Theuser can enter different types of information including, withoutlimitation, cycle selection, current cycle status, or current cyclestate, and cycle parameters, such as cycle options.

While described above in the context of a household laundry appliancewith a clear glass lid, the household appliance can be any appliancewith a movable closure element and touch interface. FIG. 10 shows aperspective view of a household cooking appliance in the form of amicrowave oven 211 with a transparent hinged door 212 in an openedposition that includes the first portion 227 of the HMI responsive totouch input. The second portion 225 of the HMI included in the housing210 that includes the display elements can be configured in anappearance typical to a conventional microwave oven.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a household dishwashing appliance311 with a transparent sliding door 312 in an opened position thatincludes the first portion 327 of the HMI responsive to touch input. Thesecond portion 325 of the HMI included in the housing 310 can includedisplay elements configured to select and modify cycles of operationconventional to a dishwasher and include displaying lighting cues to auser regarding the status of a cycle of operation.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a household refrigeration appliance411 with two transparent hinged doors 412 in an opened position. Thefirst portion 427 of the HMI responds to touch input and is shown at atop edge of the doors 412 though it is contemplated that any edge of thedoor 412 can be used. The second portion 425 of the HMI included in thehousing 410 can include display elements configured to select and modifyrefrigeration cycles and include displaying lighting cues to a userregarding the temperature of the treating chamber.

Benefits of the invention described herein include a touch-sensitivedoor, lid etc. that is the same across different models. That is, thedisplay aspect of the HMI can change for new models and still becompatible with the same touch-sensitive door, lid, etc. Another benefitrelates to the robustness of the touch-sensitive door or lid byseparating the display electronics from the touch electronics. That is,many of the limitations related to the layout of the electrical tracesare eliminated because the electrical routes needed for the touchelectronics do not share space with the physically separated LCD andLED-based electronics. Another benefit includes the inadvertent touchmitigation feature inherent in locating the touch-sensitive electronicson a movable door, lid, drawer, etc.

Another benefit relates to the aesthetics of providing a touch-sensitivetransparent door, lid or drawer, etc. Previous efforts to place touchsensitive electronics on an appliance door have included placement ofdisplay electronics on the door. These electronics do not have avisually appealing look and consequently the appliance door would needto be made opaque at least in the location of the electronics.

A consumer article is an object external to the household appliance thatcan be consumed, refreshed, preserved or otherwise used during operationof the household appliance or following operation of the householdappliance. Examples of consumer articles include, but are not limitedto, detergents and other wash aids for a household laundry appliance ordishwasher, fabric items (e.g., clothing), tableware, heat and servemeals, frozen side dishes, frozen meals and microwave popcorn.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that thisis by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variationand modification are possible within the scope of the forgoingdisclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of theinvention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A household appliance comprising: a housing; a treating chamber located within the housing and having an access opening; a closure element movable relative to the access opening between opened and closed positions to selectively provide access to the treating chamber through the access opening; a controller associated with the housing and implementing a treating cycle on at least one item in the treating chamber; and a human-machine interface (HMI) having a first portion associated with the housing and a second portion associated with the closure element, the first portion having non-touch sensitive display elements, and the second portion having an electrically conductive layer having a touch-sensitive area, wherein the electrically conductive layer is arranged to be in register with corresponding display elements when the closure element is in the closed position.
 2. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the closure element is at least one of a lid, a door, a drawer, or a removable panel.
 3. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the second portion is at least partially transparent.
 4. The household appliance of claim 3 wherein at least a portion of the touch-sensitive area is at least partially transparent.
 5. The household appliance of claim 3 wherein the first portion includes a lighting element.
 6. The household appliance of claim 5 wherein at least one of the first portion or the second portion is configured such that the display elements are not viewable through the second portion when the lighting element is off, and such that the display elements are viewable through the second portion when the lighting element is on.
 7. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the display elements can be configured to account for parallax.
 8. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the display elements include static indicia.
 9. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the display elements include dynamic lighted elements.
 10. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the touch-sensitive area is in direct communication with the controller.
 11. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the second portion is communicatively coupled with the controller such that the controller receives user input directly from the touch-sensitive area of the second portion.
 12. The household appliance of claim 11 wherein the controller is configured to synchronize the display elements in response to a touch input on the touch-sensitive area.
 13. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the HMI includes an antenna configured for data transmission or power reception.
 14. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the HMI includes an energy harvesting component configured to convert at least one of movement of the closure element or vibration to electricity.
 15. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the HMI is configured to ignore any touch event on the touch-sensitive area when the closure element is opened.
 16. The household appliance of claim 1 wherein the display elements include indicia related to at least one of cycle selection, cycle parameters, cycle options, cycle status, or cycle state.
 17. A method of operating a human-machine interface (HMI) of a household appliance comprising: controllably displaying non-touch sensitive display elements on a first portion of a housing having a treating chamber, wherein the display elements are overlain with a second portion of a closure element movable relative to the first portion of the housing between open and closed positions, the second portion including an electrically conductive layer having a touch-sensitive area corresponding to the display elements; receiving a user input on the touch-sensitive area indicative of a desired selection of the display elements; providing the user input from the touch-sensitive area to a controller; and implementing a treating cycle on at least one item in the treating chamber by the controller, based on the provided user input.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising ignoring any touch event on the touch-sensitive area when the closure element is opened.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein controllably displaying the non-touch sensitive display elements includes controllably energizing a lighting element proximate to the display elements, wherein the energizing of the lighting element enables the display elements to be visible through the second portion.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein controllably displaying the non-touch sensitive display elements is based on at least one of a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemical sensor, a position sensor, or a motor torque sensor. 